Labour tries to protect football fans with return of Governance Bill | Football Politics
Labour will strengthen protections for football fans, including on moves to change stadium locations or club names, as well as pledging to enforce a “fair financial flow” between the Premier League and English football. Soccer League (English as a foreign language).
The King's Speech marks the return of the Football Governance Bill, which the previous government failed to pass before the election. Labour sources said the new bill would ensure greater protection for clubs' assets and introduce rules on responsible owners.
There will be a new independent football regulator – as proposed in the previous bill – and rules to ensure there is no future for any proposal similar to the disastrous European Super League of a closed arena for the top teams.
A government briefing paper suggests there will be new legal protections for club names and a requirement for clubs to seek regulatory approval for the sale or relocation of a stadium.
The bill is likely to give the new independent financial regulator backstopping powers to enforce a deal between the parties. Premier league and the EFL, whose negotiations are now at an impasse. In March, the top-flight clubs halted their negotiations over additional funding for the EFL in order to focus their efforts on new financial controls for the Premier League.
EFL chairman Rick Parry said in response to the announcement that they hoped the bill would move forward quickly.
“It is clear from the many conversations I have had since the general election result that the football pyramid is important to those inside and outside of football,” he said. “It is a unique strength of English football and we are determined to collectively protect it by introducing better regulation, as well as better financial allocations, so that we can continue to serve the best interests of clubs, their supporters and the communities in which they live for many years to come.”
A Premier League spokesman said it was “critical that regulation of this hugely successful industry is proportionate and effective to ensure English football can remain a world-leading player and deliver for millions of fans.”
Niall Couper, chief executive of Fair Game, which represents 34 men’s professional football clubs across the English football pyramid, said: “Football’s financial pipeline is deeply flawed – the gaps between divisions have only grown wider over the past 20 years.
“Currently, for every £1,000 given to a Premier League club from the current broadcast deal, just 14p goes to a club in the National League North or South. But the devil will be in the detail. The concept of backstopping powers must go further. The new regulator must also have the powers to ensure that any new inter-league deal addresses football’s flawed financial flow. Without it, football will be doomed to repeat the failures of the past.”
The bill would endorse all of the previous government's original proposals, including requiring clubs to demonstrate sound financial fundamentals and protect the club's core assets and value, such as the stadium.
The government claimed the bill would address what it said was the “underlying fragility of the English football pyramid”, particularly for lower league clubs, meaning there was a “high and increasing risk of financial failure among clubs”. In the Premier League and Championship combined, net debt was £4.7bn in 2023.
